DAEYTT Chapter 038 Extraordinary Bustle at Hai Di Lao, Who's Calling Daddy?

Familiar bustling streets of Shanghai.

Familiar lively atmosphere.

Familiar busyness.

Wang Qian, carrying his backpack, followed the hurried crowd out of the station.

From afar, he could see Qin Xuerong standing there, dressed casually. It seemed she had specifically gone back to change into something more comfortable, holding a sign that said "Boss".

For those who didn't know, they might have thought she was there to pick up her boss.

Seeing Wang Qian, Qin Xuerong immediately put away the sign and smiled happily, waving to Wang Qian, "Over here."

Wang Qian felt a warm feeling in his heart, a sense of coming home. He nodded to Qin Xuerong and walked towards her, "You really didn't have to rush to pick me up like this. Your own work is the most important."

Qin Xuerong: "I'm not busy at work. Plus, Jiang Jiang returned to Beijing, Xiao Yue went to Shanghai Conservatory of Music for an exchange program, I haven't had a decent meal these days, so I thought why not have a hotpot meal with you. Haha, I promised to treat you. I loaded a lot of money onto your membership card at your restaurant, so you can eat without worry."

Wang Qian smiled. He knew Qin Xuerong had loaded a whopping one hundred thousand yuan onto the card. Even though dining at Hai Di Lao wasn't cheap, with a meal costing over a thousand yuan, it would still cover more than a hundred meals.

Of course, Wang Qian didn't say it out loud, but when it came time to pay, he wouldn't really let Qin Xuerong treat him.

In his own restaurant, he couldn't let someone else foot the bill. Wang Qian's pride wasn't that low.

Qin Xuerong had specially arranged for a high-end business car to pick up Wang Qian, so that he could sit comfortably in the back and rest for a while.

As she drove, Qin Xuerong chatted away, "Jiang Jiang and Aunt He have already set off. They'll probably arrive tonight and stay at my place. When do you have time to meet them?"

Wang Qian thought for a moment, "How about tomorrow?"

Qin Xuerong: "Aunt He will definitely be very happy. Jiang Jiang said Aunt He really likes this piece of music, she even said it's a masterpiece. Haha, Jiang Jiang isn't happy about it."

Wang Qian: "Why isn't she happy?"

Qin Xuerong said seriously, "Because, that means you've surpassed her! She's always been very competitive, she has to be the best in her field. If someone is better than her, she'll keep striving to surpass them. So, she always ranks first in her professional assessments, she even graduated with a doctoral degree ahead of schedule! This is the first in the Central Conservatory of Music. Originally, the school wanted to hire her to teach, but she refused."

"According to my sister, Jiang Jiang ranks among the top few in her field nationwide among young students, excluding the older generation."

Wang Qian: "Heh, I haven't surpassed her."

Qin Xuerong: "Tell her that to her face, she'll feel better."

Wang Qian continued, "I'm inherently better than her, so how could I surpass her?"

Qin Xuerong was speechless for a moment, then said, "You're just like her in this aspect, always thinking you're the best."

Wang Qian looked out the window confidently and said firmly, "That's a fact!"

Pfft!

Qin Xuerong burst into laughter, "Okay, that's a fact."

She glanced at Wang Qian in the rearview mirror and found it amusing.

The car soon arrived at the entrance of Hai Di Lao, managed by Tang Feifei.

But it wasn't mealtime yet, and the entrance was already packed, with what seemed like an ocean of people.

Tang Feifei and several waiters were trying to maintain order, asking everyone to line up as they hadn't started serving yet.

But these dozens or even hundreds of people refused to leave and insisted on waiting here to eat.

Tang Feifei could only helplessly give them numbers to wait for their turn.

As the boss, Wang Qian certainly wouldn't queue up.

Because he wouldn't be dining in the main hall.

With Qin Xuerong in tow, he entered through the back door. Inside, it was bustling with activity, everyone busy preparing dinner, every employee working diligently.

When they saw Wang Qian come in,

several employees greeted him hurriedly.

"Boss, you're here."

"Boss! You're still alive..."

"Boss, didn't you go off the grid..."

"Boss, just here for a stroll again."

These employees were anything but serious.

Wang Qian glanced at a few young girls and then asked, "Been busy lately?"

A tall and pretty girl who seemed to be in charge replied, "Of course, very busy. It used to be full every day. Now, it's not just full every day, there are so many people outside that they can't even stand."

"Several other shop owners nearby have talked to Feifei, saying we're affecting their business. Feifei and we discussed it and decided to extend the lunch and dinner hours by an hour to accommodate more customers."

Wang Qian was taken aback, "Why wasn't I consulted?"

The girl gave Wang Qian a disdainful look, "Feifei said she tried calling you but couldn't get through, so she waited for you to come and tell you. I'm telling you now."

After the girl finished speaking, she curiously glanced at Qin Xuerong standing next to Wang Qian, almost clinging to him, holding his backpack. She was very pretty, tall and well-proportioned, young-looking, and very obedient. Her demeanor was even better than hers. Wasn't she the one who had dinner with the boss last time?

"Hello!"

The girl nodded to Qin Xuerong.

Qin Xuerong hurriedly smiled back, "Hello, I'm Qin Xuerong."

The girl said, "I'm Li Yan, you can call me Yanzi. Are you the boss's girlfriend?"

Qin Xuerong's eyes crinkled with a smile. She really wanted to nod and say yes, but she was afraid of annoying Wang Qian, so she chose to smile and remain silent.

Wang Qian glared at Li Yan, "Stop gossiping and get back to work. Why are you so concerned about my affairs? This is my friend, don't spread rumors."

Li Yan wasn't afraid at all and advised Qin Xuerong, "Our boss is a tough nut to crack. You have to take the initiative."

Wang Qian pushed Li Yan away, "Nonsense, get back to work!"

With that, Wang Qian immediately walked inside.

Qin Xuerong covered her mouth and smiled, nodding to Li Yan and giving her a thumbs up. Li Yan also smiled and nodded back.

"Don't listen to their gossip."

Wang Qian reminded Qin Xuerong.

Qin Xuer

Wang Qian frowned, "What's wrong? Couldn't you call?"

Tang Feifei glanced at Qin Xuerong, "I called once, but you didn't answer."

Wang Qian was taken aback, realizing his phone might have been on silent during the recording session today. "Go on, what's the matter? Extending business hours?"

Tang Feifei nodded, then glanced at Qin Xuerong, saying, "Yes, we've extended the business hours by one hour for both lunch and dinner. This way, we can accommodate hundreds more customers each day, starting tonight."

Wang Qian nodded, having no objections to it.

In fact, he had planned to do the same when he came this time, but he hadn't expected the staff to take the initiative like this.

With such proactive employees, his role as the boss had indeed become much easier.

Tang Feifei glanced at Qin Xuerong again.

Qin Xuerong understood immediately and said, "I'll go to the restroom."

Tang Feifei pointed, "Over there!"

Qin Xuerong set down Wang Qian's backpack and walked towards the restroom.

Wang Qian wanted to say it wasn't necessary, but he didn't speak up. Instead, he looked at Tang Feifei. "What's the matter?"

Tang Feifei whispered, "Boss, how's the branch business going?"

Wang Qian thought for a moment, "By the end of the year! We've almost got enough funds, and we've also found a good location. Once we have enough funds by the end of the year, we'll open the branch. We'll choose a manager from among the shift leaders..."

Tang Feifei gave a thumbs up, "Boss, you're amazing, insisting on buying a storefront to open a shop! Many people have come to me these days, saying they want to meet you, want to invest in Hai Di Lao with us. Some even want to buy us out directly. I just brushed them off. What do you think, Boss? Should we accept some funds to expand faster?"

Wang Qian nodded, waving his hand, "You've done well. Reject all of them outright. Next time they come, tell them we don't accept any investment. Low-interest or interest-free loans can be considered."

Tang Feifei nodded earnestly, "Got it, I know what to do."

After reporting her work, Tang Feifei's tone changed, and a gossipy smile appeared on her face, "Boss, have you snagged this beauty?"

Wang Qian pushed Tang Feifei away, "Hurry up and go, it's none of your business."

Tang Feifei chuckled, picked up a dish, and left.

Wang Qian called out again, "Get a pot brought to my office, I'll eat here."

Tang Feifei didn't turn back but shouted, "Got it, I'll get it ready for you right away."

Qin Xuerong returned from the restroom and followed Wang Qian into the office. "I said I'd treat you."

Wang Qian said, "It's okay, eating here is fine."

Qin Xuerong felt secretly delighted. She felt that Wang Qian treating her like this meant he considered her one of his own.

"Alright."

Qin Xuerong graciously accepted, then went to help Tang Feifei and the others serve dishes, bringing a hotpot over as if she were one of the restaurant's staff.

The two of them started eating in the office in advance.

Outside, the crowd gathering at the restaurant entrance grew larger, with the queue stretching half a block. When the restaurant opened half an hour earlier than usual, there were already hundreds of people waiting.

As soon as the door opened, those who arrived early rushed in, filling every table in no time.

Sufier was one of them.

She had been coming to eat here frequently lately, but she only managed to get a table early once. The other times, she hadn't arrived early enough and missed out.

She followed Wang Qian's Weibo closely, so when she saw his message today saying he was coming to the restaurant, although he didn't specify which one of the two, she believed it was this one.

Because she had encountered Wang Qian here last time.

This time, she believed she could meet Wang Qian here again.

So, she came over after lunch, also doing an outdoor live stream to interact with everyone.

Entering the restaurant and sitting down, Sufier breathed a sigh of relief. She placed her phone, which was still live streaming, on the table facing her and smiled, "Having a meal here is as intense as going to war. It's like this all over Shanghai, maybe even the whole country."

The barrage of comments agreed.

"Agreed, I've been a few times but never got a table, so I stopped going, afraid of waiting for hours and starving there."

"Sufier, find the boss and give him a thumbs up."

"Where's the boss? Where's the boss?"

"Bring out the dishes."

"Sufier, ask the boss a sensitive question."

...

Sufier looked around, searching for Wang Qian's figure.

But after looking for a while and not finding him, she could only go ahead and order some food first.

Eating hotpot alone...

Sufier ordered quite a bit, intending to make up for the times she missed out on before.

At this moment.

Sufier saw a familiar figure walk in.

Tall and well-proportioned, with a handsome and mature face, dressed casually.

"Dad!"

Sufier couldn't help but shout.

She meant to say "boss".

But, because she was too excited!

She accidentally called the boss "dad".

Everyone in the restaurant heard her.

All eyes turned to Sufier.


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